In kneecapping BitTorrent, Comcast didn't just block pirated content, but all BitTorrent content, including legitimate un-pirated content such as a file containing the text of the King James Bible, and video that BitTorrent was distributing on behalf of its clients Fox, Time Warner, and Viacom - all card-carrying members of the MPAA!
This despite Megaupload claiming to have removed the payments for users who uploaded pirated content in 2007.
The bills are aimed at thwarting piracy, by forcing the shutdown of any site that hosts pirated content.
Under the agreement, the Internet providers would send up to four warning letters to owners of accounts suspected of pirating content.
That act has safe harbors protecting sites, like YouTube, that may unknowingly host pirated content, as long as they take it down when notified.
What they were referring to, of course, were the DMCA "takedown" notices used by record companies and film studios to force file-sharing websites to remove pirated content.
Which is a position the RIAA (which seeks to close sites linking to pirate content), or even China's Communist party could happily agree with.
The legislation, currently in the House of Representatives, would allow the US justice department to target legitimate sites where users share pirated content.
The sites taken down by City of London Police do not offer pirated content themselves, but rather offer tools that allow users to connect to illegal services such as the Pirate Bay and similar torrent sites.
Previous studies have found that people who pirate content are also much more likely to purchase content legally than those who do not illegally download music and movies, often being greater consumers of media.
